Body Camera Captures Wild Turkey Leading Police On Chase

Share this:

CLEVELAND -- Police body camera video shows an unusual standoff and chase last month in the parking lot of a Cleveland shopping center.

Police got a call about a wild turkey at the center and were told kids had thrown rocks at it and tried to run over it with bikes, according to WJW.

But the video shows officers had trouble taking this wanted subject into custody. They call the turkey, walk up to it, run after it, and watch it flutter above their heads. Always, the bird stays a step ahead.

Video shows citizens with blankets and some folks with North Coast Emergency Services trying to help Officer Dave Morova and Sgt. Janell Rutherford.

At one point, a police supervisor calls for an expert, asking a dispatcher to call for a state wildlife officer. Oddly, the dispatcher comes back on the radio and says, “Wildlife is not allowed to touch the turkey.”

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says it never got a call for the bird. The state says a wildlife officer could have offered some advice. Or a wildlife officer could have gone out to the scene if the turkey had been critically hurt, or if there had been a public health threat.

Finally, it looks as if the bird has beaten the police. An officer can be heard saying, "The turkey's got the best of us."

But, eventually, a photo shows the turkey wrapped in a blanket in the arms of a citizen. A man took the turkey to a farm in Lorain County.